Re: You
can lead a horse to water...

: Attributed to Dorothy Parker, but is an obvious paraphrase
of, "You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink."
: Does anyone
have an origin for the latter phrase? It means, I think, vainly attempting to
help someone.

YOU CAN LEAD A HORSE TO WATER, BUT YOU CAN'T MAKE HIM DRINK -
"Although you may be able to show a person what is best, according to this proverb,
you cannot force him to it - even though it is in his interest. An early version
of the saying, 'A man maie well bring a horse to the water. But he cannot make
him drinke without he will,' was rendered in John Heywood's 'A Dialogue Conteinyng
the Nomber in Effect of All the Prouerbes in the Englishe Tongue .The closest
wording to the modern version appeared some years later in Frederick Marryat's
'The King's Own' as 'You may take a horse to the water, but you can't make
him drink.'." From "Wise Words and Wives' Tales: The Origins, Meanings and Time-Honored
Wisdom of Proverbs and Folk Sayings Olde and New" by Stuart Flexner and Doris
Flexner (Avon Books, New York, 1993).